Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance

Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance

Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance began in the 19th century when Tai Hang was a small Hakka village of farmers and fishermen on the waterfront of Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island. Now, the traditional dance is on China’s third national list of intangible cultural heritage.

According to legend, Tai Hang village was attacked by a typhoon before the Mid-Autumn Festival in 1880. Worse still, a python appeared and ate the villagers’ livestock. This was followed by a plague which killed many villagers. Some village elders said that the chaos could only be stopped by dragon dancing and burning firecrackers. Then, the villagers made a huge dragon using straw and covered it with incense sticks. They lit up the incense sticks and danced around the village for three days and three nights. Eventually, the plague disappeared. Today, the amazing dance and the craftsmanship of making the fire dragon are part of Hong Kong living culture.